Thursday, March 27, 2014

The claimed Republic of Crimea which has now joined Russia (click to see full-sized map). By Evan Centanni, based onthis blank map.

By Evan Centanni

Russia Annexes Crimea
The Crimean peninsula, which declared independence from Ukraine ten days ago as the Republic of Crimea, has now been absorbed into Russia. This was part of the plan all along - the claimed Republic of Crimea had requested to join Russia at the same time that it declared independence.

Besides those country-level changes, there has also been an adjustment to the subnational administrative status of Crimea. Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the special municipality of Sevastopol, which united to claim independence as the Republic of Crimea, have now been separated again as divisions within the Russian Federation. The former Autonomous Republic of Crimea is now the Republic of Crimea, a federal subject of Russia, and Sevastopol is a "city of federal significance" (also a type of federal subject within the Russian Federation).

Transitioning Between Two Countries
Russia's annexation of Crimea may look complete on paper, but changing the whole region from Ukrainian to Russian administration is goingto be a major logistical headache. In addition to the issues of distributing Russian citizenship to all Crimeans and figuring out what to do with members of the Ukrainian military who are stationed there, infrastructure will be a major issue.